I Miss

Placing my hands on Jean’s pregnant belly and feeling the kid’s kicks

Holding our babies

Watching Sesame Street and Mister Rogers with Ann and John

Taking our munchkins to playgrounds and chasing them through the equipment

The sound of Big Wheels on the driveway

Roughhousing with the kids

The giant swing in the back yard of our house

Sending the kids on secret missions at bedtime, and tucking them roughly into bed

Running with the kids out the front door onto the lawn whenever we hear military aircraft passing overhead

Playing the game “Mine!” in the pool

Going to the movies with Ann and John and sharing a bucket of popcorn with disgusting amounts of butter on it

Christmas mornings as a family

Our trips to the beach

Ann and John telling stories at dinner each night from their day at school and athletics

Trading the stories of races with Ann and John; Ann from track and cross country races, John from swimming races, and me from my road races

Everyone in the house leaving their separate activities to converge on the laundry basket whenever Mom called “LAUNDRY”; ditto Mom coming home calling “GROCERIES” – nobody left till the job was done

The bustle of activity after dinner clearing the table, doing dishes, putting away leftovers, taking out the garbage, and nobody leaving the kitchen until Mom left the kitchen

Ann yelling at me to “CLOSE THE DOOR” while changing shirts next to the car after a long run on a cold and windy day

John explaining incomprehensible swim workouts that would confuse Einstein

Ann and John’s hugs

I miss my kids

(love you, guys)